The Modern Chicken
Counting your chickens before they hatch takes on new meaning in Oklahoma’s Delaware County. The sudden rise of poultry barns in this region is cause for concern. Here’s why.
POULTRY CONSUMPTION has grown dramatically over the past four decades in the United States, with the average consumer eating more than ninety pounds of poultry meat per year. The methods used to meet this demand have created an entirely distinct form of agriculture, known as “factory farming” or intensive animal farming.
Eastern Oklahoma is home to two methods of broiler-chicken production. (Broiler chickens are used for meat production rather than egg laying.) One type is known as vertically integrated industrial broiler production, done in extreme confinement in massive barns measuring 60 by 600 feet and overseen by large global corporations. The other method is referred to as pasture-raised and allows for freedom of movement in traditional pastures and forests on small independent farms. The industrial systems are producing nearly two million birds each year per growing location, whereas independent family-based growers produce less than 20,000 birds annually per farm.
In addition to the radically different standards regarding the humane (or not) treatment of the bird—no federal protections exist for poultry—the largest difference between these systems is the litter issue, or, as it is more commonly known, chicken poop. Although pasture-based chicken operations produce zero excess litter (all chicken waste is used right on the farm where it is produced), industrial chicken farms are stockpiling an average of two pounds of waste per chicken grown, or about 1,650 tons annually at a single growing operation. Whether it is the Chesapeake Bay back east or the Illinois River here in Oklahoma, industrial-scale chicken waste is affecting water quality. The state of Oklahoma has been involved in a twenty-year battle with the state of Arkansas over this issue. More recently, the fast-track permitting and construction of 113 new mega-barns in Oklahoma’s Delaware County in 2018 is having a significant impact on water and air quality and causing an ever-growing public outcry.
Apart from environmental concerns, animal-welfare differences are quite distinct. Industrial chickens are grown in completely enclosed barns, never seeing sunlight, and they live on a space slightly smaller than a sheet of printer paper for their entire five-week life. They are fed a commercially produced diet mixed with antibiotics that science has shown results in health issues like woody breast, white striping, and reduced protein content, and subsequently a rise in fat content. In comparison, pasture-raised chickens and eggs have been studied for more than four decades, and they routinely yield higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and meat quality.
Currently, more than 90 percent of all poultry raised for human consumption in the US is produced by large industrial agriculture corporations. Of the remaining 10 percent, less than 1 percent is owned and raised by independent family farms. Consumer choice plays a role in how these meat products are produced. For more information about Oklahoma chickens, read The Oklahoma Animal Study.